How to use body language to raise your mood

Your body speaks to both the internal and the external world. Your body language has a major impact not only on how others perceive you, but also on who you are as a person. Bad posture impacts your physiological health, affects your mental outlook, and tells people a nasty story about yourself. Some of the biggest winners in life have used body language to express ideas, win arguments, and get what they want. This article shows how you can use body language to improve your moods and interaction with others every day.

Body language to battle depression

Did you know that your facial expression can impact your mood? Scientists at the Hannover Medical School in Germany found that by displaying less frown lines on their face, depression patients could improve their condition. Your body language has a direct influence on your emotions. If you adopt the body language of confidence (good posture, power pose, etc.) you tend to feel more confident. One the other hand, if you curl yourself up (poor posture, slouching, etc.), you tend to feel less confident and insecure. You owe it unto yourself to use positive body language to boost your moods. Start by improving your posture and other elements of positive body language.

Walk to open your mind

When people are really upset, we sometimes tell them to “take a walk”. Why? Because a simple walk can change the state of their mind. Research shows that when people walk happily (straight back with elastic, light steps), they tend to become more positive. People who walk unhappily (heavy steps, hanging shoulders) become more negative. Your posture affects your state of mind, and also determines whether you’re likely to pay attention to positive or negative information.

Force a smile to raise your spirits

Try to force a smile or laughter (for long enough) the next time you’re feeling down. You’ll probably be surprised to realize that this raises your spirits (even if for a moment). You can make this work even better by trying to picture something that you found hilarious (or that would make you laugh). It’s a great way to disintegrate a negative atmosphere and actually boost your moods.

Dance to cheer up

Have you ever been around someone who was trying to cheer you up? And you just realized how their enthusiasm was infectious? That was body language speaking. There’s something magical about what a little dance (either by you or someone close to you) removes a bad mood. But what if you’re in an environment where dancing would be inappropriate? Maybe you’re working at the office where there are customers and you’re trying to improve your mood…consider take a few paces or gently jog. It’ll have the same effect as a dance.

Body language has a major impact on how you feel, and how others see you. Invest a little time everyday to check your body language and find areas that need an improvement and work on that.